Terjemahan Ringkas:

Harga air kini akan naik pada kadar 20-75% untuk kawasan KL, Putrajaya dan Selangor.

Penguna domestik: 20%
Industri/Komersil: 50%
Kerajaan/Perkapalan: 75%
B. Kebajikan/Ugama: 20%

Selangor hilang 42% air yang dirawat kerana kebocoran, kecurian, dan resapan. Terdapat 6,000km paip yang perlu diperbaiki.

NST melapurkan RM 2 bilion diperlukan untuk membaiki paip dan Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd disuruh untuk mula memperbaikinya. (Tidak perlu tender atau sebutharga?)

JBAS akan diswastakan kepada satu konsortium yang bernama Syabas. Sekali lagi Puncak Niaga turut terlibat di dalamnya.

KOMEN

Cuba kita congak baik-baik:

RM2,000,000,000/6,000km=RM333,333/km=RM333/m

Inilah kos untuk menukar sebatang paip sepanjang 1 meter. Dengan kos setinggi ini, kontraktor tentu akan kaya raya. Itulah muslihat agenda penswastaan negara.

Kita baru sahaja menerima kenaikkan harga petrol kini kenaikkan harga air akan membebankan lagi pengguna. Sektor komersil dan industri pasti akan menyalurkan kos kepada pengguna juga. Terlalu banyak industri bergantung kepada bekalan air khususnya industri makanan dan minuman. Apakah kenaikkan ini untuk mengimbangi masalah penswastaan pembentungan (IWK) yang gagal mengutip wang?

Gejala kehilangan air berlaku sejak 1995 lagi tetapi tidak ada apa-apa tindakkan dilakukan. Negara kerugian lebih RM500 juta setahun akibat kegiatan curi air (RM240 juta) dan paip bocor (RM321 juta). Penswastaan Syarikat Air Johor mengalami kerugian RM1.1 bilion membuktikan lagi kelemahan pentadbiran kerajaan BN/Umno. - (buletin pra pilihanraya)

Inilah hadiah BN (Barang Naik?) untuk rakyat setelah diberi mandat. Sebelum ini harga petrol baru sahaja dinaikkan. Selepas ini apa pula agaknya? Apakah tidak ada cara lain untuk kerajaan mencari wang selain membebani pengguna dengan penswastaan? Khir Toyo perlu berfikir panjang kerana tarif air mungkin boleh membuat dia sendiri kecundang. Bukankah di Selangor banyak kilang haram yang mencuri air sambil memberi imbuhan kepada pemimpin Umno sehingga mereka boleh membawa berkilo-kilo wang keluar negara? Malah kilang-kilang ini jugalah yang mencemari sungai dengan bau amonia dan segala macam racun sehingga pusat merawat air meragam dibuatnya. Kerajaan tidak perlu menaikkan tarif air, tetapi perlu melawat kilang haram ini dan memberi denda yang sewajarnya. Sampai kini tidak kedengaran sebuah kilang pun didenda kerana mencuri dan merosakkan mutu air - tidak kah itu pelik namanya?

-Kapal Berita-

http://news.catcha.com/my/content.phtml? 1&010&&bernama.cgi&story=ge20010221_6

WATER TARIFFS INCREASE BY BETWEEN 20 PER CENT AND 75 PER CENT

SHAH ALAM, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- Water tariffs in Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will increase by between 20 per cent and 75 per cent for the various sectors.

The new rates will take effect after they are gazetted in two weeks, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo announced Wednesday.

For domestic consumers, the rate for the first 20 cu m will be increased by 20 per cent or 15 sen from 42 sen per cu m to 57 sen per cu m.

For example, a monthly bill of RM9.55 will increase to RM11.40.

For the next 15 cu m, the increase is 40 per cent, from 65 sen to 91 sen per cu m, while consumption above 35 cu m will cost 60 per cent more, from RM1.05 to RM1.70 per cu m.

For industrial and commercial consumers. the tariff for the first 35 cu m will increase by 50 per cent, from RM1.20 to RM1.80 per cu m while for consumption above 35 cu m, the increase is 60 per cent, from RM1.20 to RM1.92 per cu m.

For the shipping and government sectors, the increase is 75 per cent -- from RM2.10 to RM3.68 per cu m for the shipping sector and from 80 sen to RM1.40 per cu m for the government sector.

Religious institutions and welfare organisations will have to pay 20 per cent more.

The tariff for religious institutions will increase from 33 sen to 42 sen per cu m while that for welfare organisations will rise to 50 sen from 40 sen per cu m.

Dr Khir said that even with the tariff increase, the state government still had to subsidise 66 sen for each cu m of water used, or RM857 million a year.

http://www.nstpi.com.my/z/Current_News /NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20010221074745

NST Frontpage: RM500m for waterworks

By Deborah Loh

21 February 2001

KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The Federal Government will provide a RM500 million soft loan to the consortium that will begin the privatisation of the Selangor Waterworks Department in April.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who announced this today, said the funds would be for the repair and replacement of old asbestos pipes and water meters, a project that would eventually cost the new company RM2 billion.

Until the privatisation is complete, Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd will undertake repairs which are essential to curbing water loss (non-revenue water), he said.

"We want the problem of non-revenue water to be quickly solved.

"So we have asked Puncak Niaga to start repairs first.

"The new consortium will take over when privatisation is finalised," Samy Vellu said.

The date for the privatisation was announced by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo at a joint Press conference with Samy Vellu.

The consortium, to be named Syabas (Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor) will comprise Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd, Splash (Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd) and Konsortium Abass (which comprises Zulfar Water Services, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan and Chemical Wastes Management).

Samy Vellu and Dr Khir earlier had an hour-long meeting with department officials and representatives from water companies at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel.

Selangor loses 42 per cent of its treated water through leaking pipes, ground seepage and theft.
There are about 6,000km of pipes to repair.

Talks on the privatisation with potential partners are on-going, Dr Khir said.

One of the issues being discussed is sourcing for the RM2 billion needed for repair of pipes.

"We want the water treatment companies to be involved in the new consortium," he said, adding that the State Government would have a stake in it.

Dr Khir said the State Government had not determined the lead partner yet. He said the State Government was grateful for the soft loan. "It relieves the State's burden and allows us to focus on other development projects."

He said Selangor will buy water from Pahang by 2007 as its population was growing at nine per cent each year.

New townships in Putrajaya and its surrounding areas are also expected to burden the existing water supply.

The Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer project, which includes a dam and a 45km transfer tunnel under the Titiwangsa mountain range, is expected to be completed before then. The project is being undertaken by the Public Works Department.

"It will be costly to buy water from Pahang. If we can repair all our pipes, then we may be able to cut down the amount we buy from them," Dr Khir said.

Meanwhile, Dr Khir said new water tariffs for the State will be gazetted 14 days after they are decided upon tomorrow.

The increment would be confirmed at the weekly meeting of the State Executive Council.

He gave an assurance that the new tariff would not be a 100 per cent increase over current rates.

Last Wednesday, the Selangor Waterworks Department announced its proposal to increase the water tariff by 50 to 100 per cent due to increasing costs.